DEMAND OUTSTRIPS SUPPLY
City’s vaccination centres may be forced to shut half the week due to limited doses
Sunderland’ s vaccination centres maybe forced to spend half the week shuttered because of limited supplies.
Health chiefs have made good progress so far, giving jabs to about two thirds of the city’s care home workers and predicting all care home residents will have received a first dose by the end of this week.
But a rush to continue the work among priority groups may see demand quickly outstrip supply.
“Vaccination centres can only be open if we have vaccines,” said David Chandler, deputy chief officer and chief financial officer at Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
“We’ve got staff ready to vaccinate, but any centre might only get enough vaccines to vaccinate three days out of seven.
“You’re as likely to walk past a vaccine centre and see it closed as open because we haven’t got as much vaccine as we would like.”
Mr Chandler was speaking at a meeting of Sunderland City Council’s Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee, which was held by videolink and broadcast via YouTube.
About 125,000 in Wearside are in the Government’s top 10 vaccine priority groups, including the over 50s and health and social care workers.
Issues with the Pfizer vaccine were foreseen early, due to the way it must be stored and its short shelf life.
All six of Sunderland’s primary care networks (PCNs) are expected to be ready to start administering jabs by Wednesday.
This effort will include the Oxford vaccine, which is easier to store and transport, meaning it will also be suitable for door to door treatments for the most vulnerable patients.
Health chiefs however have insisted the city has received its ‘fair share’ of the national supply.
Dr Fadi Khalil, a GP and the CC G’s vice-chairman, added: “Where you see closed [vaccine centres] it is because of vaccine supply.
“When we get[Pfiz er] vaccines we have to use them within three days, so once we’re out the gates are shut.
“The disappointment is because we’ve had such a head start we’re now not moving at the same pace. We’re slowing down so we average out and we’re waiting for other areas to catch up and we’re now at the mercy of supply.”